RAFAEL Nadal had to fight hard in the first round of the Italian Open to beat qualifier Zizou Bergs in three sets, Thursday (9/5).
Nadal lost five of the last six games in the opening set to fall behind his opponent who is ranked 105th in the world.
The 10-time Italian Open champion improved his performance in the second set but still had to work hard to achieve a 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4 victory over Bergs in 2 hours and 52 minutes.
In the second round of the Italian Open, Nadal will face seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz. It will be the first meeting between the two players.
“Today was not my best performance. I performed better in training than today but I managed to find a way to win,” admitted Nadal.
“That’s very important at the start of the tournament. My game is now easy for opponents to read. I haven’t played much for the last two years so my performance is still up and down. However, I’m optimistic that I can perform better than today and hopefully in the next match.” he continued. (eurosport/Z-1)
#Rafael #Nadal #Beats #Zizou #Bergs #Advance #Italian #Open
